Timer



Jan. 22, 1963 M. A. HALL 3,

TIMER "Filed June 11, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 v INVENTOR.

MITCHELL A. HALL ATTORNEY M. A. HALL Jan. 22, 1963' TIMER Filed June 11,1959 INVENTOR MITCHELL :4. HALL ATTORNEY Jan. 22,- 1963 M. A. HALL3,075,055

' TIMER Filed June 11, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. MITCHELL '4. HALL ATTORNEY M. A. HALL 3,075,055

TIMER 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

MITCHELL, A. HALL 2 I "m /l//// r Jan. 22, 1963 Filed June 11, 1959 BY AATToR Jan. 22, 1963 Filed June 11, 1959 M. A. HALL TIMER 6 Sheets-Sheet5 INVENTOR.

MITCHELL A. HALL ATTORNEY M. A. HALL Jan. 22, 1.963

TIMER Filed June 11, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 6 MITCHELL A. HALL ATTORN YThis invention relates to a timer mechanism, and particularly to amechanism adapted to close an electric circuit to an appliance or otherdevice to be operated for a predetermined length of time.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, highly efficient,substantially foolproof time control mechanism which may be associatedwith any type of conventional means for providing a setting which willinitiate the beginning of a predetermined time cycle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a timecontrol mechanismhaving the hereinabove described characteristics which is adapted to beassociated with the standard housings or control boxes of coin-actuatedequipment, such as, by way of example, electric driers, Washers and thelike, whereby the timer mechanism, though entirely independent of, maynevertheless be initiated and controlled by, the conventionalcoin-actuated slide type mechanisms usually associated with suchhousings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a time control mechanismhaving adjustable means associated therewith for enabling the timer toprovide a wide variety of different timing cycles, depending upon theuses to which the timer is to be put, thereby greatly enhancing theflexibility and commercial acceptance of the device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coinslide-actuatedtimer which is so constructed and arranged as to preclude malfunctionwhich would result in more time being delivered by the device than wasactually paid for. In other Words, the device is substantiallycheatproof.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a time controlmechanism which is characterized by its extreme accuracy and which isadapted to be mounted in a typical housing in such a manner that itcannot be tampered with or cheated on in any way. In the preferredembodiment of the invention the subject time control mechanism issecured to and carried by a lockactuated access door, thereby renderingthe device read ily accessible to authorized persons for permitting easyremoval of the entire mechanism for inspection and/ or adjustment of thebasic time setting.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein, andas disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a typical housing or box containing coininjection mechanism, coin accumulating compartment and the time controlmechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear end view of the box of FIG. 1.

PEG. 3 is a top plan view of the box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the box as shown in FIG. 1,partially broken away to illustrate the time control mechanism housedtherein.

FIG. 5 is a top sectional view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating the mechanism in itsactuating position.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 5,illustrating the time control mechanism in its Off position.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 8, illustrating themechanism in its ()n position.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of certain parts of the mechanism as seen inPEG. 4, illustrating the relative movement of said ports.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating one positionof a modified form of the invention.

HS. 12 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 11, illustrating the secondposition of the modified form of the invention.

The box, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, is generally rectangular inconfiguration, comprises side walls 29 and 21, top and bottom walls 22and 23, and front and rear end walls 2 and 25. 'Front end wall 24carries a conventional coin injecting slide mechanism, indicatedgenerally at 26. When a coin of proper denomination is inserted in thecircular aperture 27, the slide may be fully actuated and the coininjected into the box where it is deposited in a coin accumulatingcompartment, accessible through door 28 in side wall 20. Door 28 isprovided with a lock 30. The coin controlled slide mechanism may be ofany appropriate conventional construction and is not disclosed ordescribed in detail as it forms no part of the present invention beyondthe provision of a leading edge or abutment 31 (FIGS. 6 and 7) on thecoin injecting slide as.

Each time a proper coin is inserted in aperture 27 and injected into thebox, the leading edge or abutment 31, being either integral with orrigidly attached to slide 26, moves into contact with and rocks a lever32 from the position illustrated in FIG. 6 to the position illustratedin FIG. 7.

A tension spring 33 is attached at one end to an ear 1% integral withlever 32, and at its other end to an upstanding arm 35 forming part of astop member 36. Stop member 36 is rigidly fixed to a base plate 37 bymeans of a detent 313 and rivet 4d and provides a stop or limit forlever 32:. The edge 41 of lever 32 is yieldably urged against stopmember 36 by tension spring 33 (PEG. 6).

Ease plate 37 is fixed, as by spot welds, to a door plate 42, removablymounted in the end wall 25, and provided with a lock unit indicatedgenerally at Lever 32 is rotatably journaled on a collar 44 (FIG. 8)formed integral with base plate 37, and positioned to place lever 32 inthe line of travel of the leading edge or abutment 33% of coin injectingslide 26.

Lever 32 is held in place on collar 44 and against base plate 37 bymeans of a ring bracket 138 encircling collar 44- and being providedwith an offset foot portion 39, rigidly attached to base plate 37 bymeans of an appropriate scrcw 13$.

A pawl 45 (FIG. 6) is pivotally attached to lever 32, as at 46, and isadapted to engage the teeth of ratchet Wheel 48. A tension spring 54)extends between an car 51 of pawl arm ift and an car 52 extendingradially outwardly from the journal ring 53 of lever 32. Spring 50 holdspawl 4-5 in engagement with ratchet Wheel 48.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the lever 32 is rocked in acounter-clockwise direction, pawl 45 will be moved out of engagementwith tooth 54- of ratchet wheel 48 and shifted downwardly against lug 56preparatory to engagement with the succeeding tooth 55. Overtravel ofpawl scrapes 4-5 is thus limited by means of the upstanding lug 5d,struck from base plate 37. Tension spring 33 will return lever 32 to itsinitial, upstanding or starting position (FiG. 6), whereupon pawl willengage ratchet tooth 55 during the return stroke and thereby advance theratchet wheel in a clockwise direction by one tooth.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, ratchet wheel 48 is provided witha central aperture 57 adapted to he slid over the counter-turned neck 53of a hub 6d and is keyed thereto by means or" a lug 61 struck from theratchet wheel and extending into a keyway 62, provided in hub at The huband ratchet wheel assembly is rotatably iournaled in the bore 63provided in the collar 4d and is held in place by means of an enlargedbeveled head portion providing a shoulder (id overlying the base plate37 at one end of collar dd. Ratchet wheel 43 is held against the otherend of collar 44 by means of a spring washer as and a split ring asseated in an annular groove 67 in the counterturned neck portion 53 ofhub 6d. Sufiicient friction is thus provided by the spring washer toprevent the hub and ratchet wheel assembly from rotating with the pawlas it travels in a counter-clockwise direction over the ratchet teeth.The return travel, under the influence of spring 33, readily overcomesthe friction to rotate the ratchet wheel and hub assembly in a clockwisedirection as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the hub do is provided with acentral screw threaded bore es to receive an externally threaded stud7t; provided with a head portion 71 at its outer end which carries asecond ratchet wheel 72. Ratchet wheel 72 is rigidly fixed to the head71 of threaded stud 70 by means of a collar portion 73 swaged over thebeveled periphery of the central aperture 74 of ratchet wheel 72. Rotarymovement of ratchet wheel '72 is restricted by a pair of spring metalpressure pads 75 and 76 exerting an axially opposed pressure on oppositefaces of the ratchet wheel as best illustrated in PEG. 5. The leg '77 ofone pressure pad 75 is rigidly attached as by screw 7% to an ear turnedoutwardly from base plate 37. The other pressure pad 76 is fixed to theleg 77 of pressure pad '75 by means of a tab (iii extending through aslot 81 in leg '77 and a rivet 82, FIGS. 4 and 5.

The externally screw threaded stud it? is also provided with a centralbore 83. The forward or inner end 84 of bore 83 is somewhat smaller indiameter and is threaded to carry a set screw 85 which is adapted tocontact a switch actuating plate 36.

As best illustrated in FIG. 5, plate 86 is pivoted, as at 67, at one endin a bracket 83 secured to base plate 37 by means of a screw 9th Theother end 91 of plate 86 is adapted to contact button 92 of amicro-switch 93 under pressure of set screw 85, as will be describedlater in the specification. Micro-switch 93 is firmly supported betweenbrackets $8 and 9d.

Ratchet wheel 72 is driven in a clockwise direction by means of acontrol member indicated generally at 95, which is the subject matteror" a co-pending application, Serial No. 819,355, filed June 10, 1959,and will be described only insofar as is necessary to understand theoperation of the present invention.

The control member 95 is driven in a counter-clockwise direction bymeans of a clock motor 96, and is composed of a body portion 97 and aplurality of radially disposed adjustable stops or abutment plates 98(FIGS. 2 and Each abutment plate 95 terminates in an outturned lip Mill,and is axially adjustable to either a fully retracted or a fullyadvanced position. In their fully advanced position, lip lilo willcontact the teeth lull or ratchet wheel 72 and impart a relativemovement to the wheel. I When the abutment plates are fully retracted,they by-pass or clear thefteeth oi ratchet wheel '72. Therefore, ifmotor 96 is driving the control member @5 in a counter-clockwisedirection at a rate of one revolution per hour, for example, and if alltwelve abutment plates are fully advanced as in FIG. 10, an abutmentplate 93 will cont-act a tooth N1 of d ratchet wheel '72 every fiveminutes. The abutment plates 3 and ratchet teeth ltll are spaced, asillustrated in FIG. 10, so that each abutment stop or element 1% willdrive the ratchet wheel 72 in a clockwise direction by an amountindicated by the distance between radial lines A and B.

In PEG. 4, every third stop or abutment plate has been fully advancedand the remainder are fully retracted. A fifteen minute interval willtherefore elapse between the contacting of each ratchet tooth. Variousother time intervals of either regular orirregular duration may beprovided for, simply by advancing or retracting various abutmeat platesin operation, a coin of the required denomination is inserted in theaperture 27 of the injecting slide 26 and advanced in the conventionalmanner until the coin is deposited in the coin accumulating compartment.The leading edge of the injecting slide provides abutment 31 which rocksarm 32 in a counterclockwise direction. Pawl 45, pivotally carried byarm 32, rides out of engagement with tooth dd of ratchet wheel 48 andinto position to engage the succeeding tooth as. When coin injectinslide is released, tension spring 33 returns lever 32. and pawl 45 toits starting position. The pawl, meanwhile, has engaged tooth 555 androtated the periphery of ratchet wheel 48 a distance of equivalent tothe length of one tooth. if the coin injecting slide is r leasedsuddenly, there may be an inclination for the pawl and ratchet wheel tobounce and possibly ship a tooth, due

to the sudden stop against stop member 3%. A tapered lock plate lldZ isprovided to eliminate this possibility. The tapered edge 1% lies in theplane of travel of pawl as, and is positioned to be very closelyadjacent to or to abut the top edge lti l of the pawl as edge if. oflever 32 contacts stop 36. Pawl 45' is therefore held or locked inengagement with ratchet wheel 43. The tapered lock plate is fixed by ascrew 1% to base plate 37.

The clockwise movement of ratchet wheel 48 is directly transmitted tohub do by means of lug er in keyway Bus to the friction created onsprocket Wheel '72, by the pressure pads and 76, ratchet wheel 72 willnot rotate with ratchet wheel instead, the internally threaded bore ofhub as threads or moves the stud 7d axially outwardly, carrying ratchetwheel 72 away from ratchet wheel 43. Set screw is therefore withdrawnfrom contact with switch plate 86, permitting microswitch 93 to assumeits normally On position.

Motor 96 is energized by switch )3 causing control member to rotate in acounterclockwise direction. As previously described, each stop orabutment plate 98 mo-ves the periphery of ratchet wheel 72 a distanceexactly equal to the length of one tooth. The friction created by springwasher 65 on ratchet wheel 48 prevents switch button 9'2 to disengagethe contacts of microswitch E3.

in practice, the micro-switch, in addition to operating motor 96, mayalso be in electrical connection with a piece of machinery, appliance,or any kind of equipment that is to be operated for a pro-determinedperiod of time for a set fee. For example, in operating a clothes dryerwith a set fee of live cents for live minutes, all twelve abutmentplates would be advanced on the control member 5 5. if it were desiredto operate the dryer for thirtyfive minutes, seven nickles would beconsecutively injected into the box by means of the slide as. Each timethe lever 32 would be rocked as previously described by the slideabutment Iii, the periphery of ratchet wheel 48 will be rotated a totaldistance equivalent to the length of seven teeth. When the first coin isinjected, the dryer as Well as the motor 96 will be energized. Controlmember 95 will rotate until seven abutment plates have contacted seventeeth on ratchet wheel 72, to rotate the periphery of the wheel adistance equivalent to the length of seven teeth. Thus, the outwardaxial movement imparted to ratchet wheel 72 by the rotation of theperiphcry of ratchet wheel 48 a distance equivalent to the length orseven teeth is compensated for by the inward axial movement imparted bythe same amount of rotation of ratchet wheel '72. The dryer and motor 96will then be de-energized by switch 3 in the manner previouslydescribed.

When the abutment plates are arranged to impart rotary movement toratchet wheel 72 at fifteen minute in tervals, as illustrated in FIG. 4,four appropriate coins would be required for one hour of operation. Fourcoins would move ratchet wheel 48 a distance equivalent to the length offour teeth. As every third abutment plate 98 would contact ratchet wheel'72, one complete revolution of control member 95 would be required tomove ratchet wheel 72 a distance equivalent to the length of four teethto shut ed the motor Q6 and dryer inthe manher just described.

It may be desirable to provide a time control mmhanism in which theamount of rotation of ratchet wheel 48 can be readily changed from aperipheral rotation equivalent to the length of one tooth to aperipheral rotation equivalent to the length 5 two teeth, for each coininjected. The modification illustrated in FlGS. 11 and 12 provides anadjustable lock plate 11% and an adjustable stop member 111. Lock platelid is provided with two holes 112 and 113, While the base plate 3. isprm vided with three holes 114, 115 and lid.

in FIG. 11, screw 117 is threaded through hole 113 of lock plate lidinto base plate 37 to confine the lock plate in the position shown whilescrew lid is threaded through hole 115 in base plate 37 into stop member111.

'Detent K19 lies in hole lid and cooperates with screw lit; to rigidlyconfine the stop member Elli in the position illustrated. When theactuating lever 32 is rocked in the manner previously described, pawl 45disengages lock plate 11% and is moved in a counter-clockwise directionover ratchet tooth 12% to a position in engage- 'ment with lug 56similar to the position illustrated in FIG. 7. The return stroke oflever 32 will carry pawl as into contact with tooth 12d and move tooth12th to the position occupied by tooth ml in FIG. 11 before the pawl islocked in place by the plate lit), and lever 32 contacts stop member111. The ratchet wheel 43 is therefore rotated in a clockwise directiona distance equal to the length of one tooth.

In FIG. 12, the lock plate 116 is moved upwardly from the positionillustrated in FIG. 11, by threading screw 117 through hole 112 into thebase plate 37. Stop member 111 is moved to the position illustrated inFIG. 12, by threading screw 113 through hole 116 into stop member 111with detent 119 lying in hole 115. Counterclockwise rotation of lever 32carries pawl 45 out of engagement with lock plate 110 and ratchet tooth122. Pawl 45 passes over teeth 12.3 and 124 to its position on lug 5d.The return stroke of lever 32 will carry pawl 45 into contact with tooth124 and move it to the position occupied by tooth 122. The ratchet wheel48 is therefore rotated in a clockwise direction a distance equal to thelength of two teeth.

By providing the adjustments to regulate the amount of rotation ofratchet wheel 48 by the injection of each coin, as just described, thetime control mechanism is even more flexible in providing any desiredtime cycle. Various settings of abutment plates 98 in connection withthe two settings of ratchet wheel 4-8 provide this great flexibility.

What is claimed is:

1. A timer comprising an axially shiftable externally threaded studmember, first rotatable means for imparting non-rotational endwise axialmovement to said memher in one direction, and second rotatable means forimparting rotational and endwise axial movement to said member in theopposite direction, and means on said stud member to actuate an electriccontactor.

2. A timer including an electric switch having an actuator elementshiitable between circuit closing and circuit breaking positions, amember axially shiftable toward and away from said actuator element,first rotatable means for imparting endwise movement to said member awayfrom said actuator element for shifting said element to a circuitclosing position, and second rotatable means fixed to said axiallyshiftable member coaxially with said first rotatable means for impartingendwise axial movement to said member toward said actuator element, toengage and shift said element to a circuit breaking position.

3. A timer including circuit control means, an axially shiftable member,first means having unidirectional rotation only, for imparting endwiselinear movement to said member in one direction only for actuating saidcircuit control means to a circuit closing condition, second meansoperable in the same direction of rotation as the first means forimparting a reverse linear endwise movement to said member, and motormeans operable incident to completion of a circuit through said circuitcontrol means for driving said second means to impart the aforesaidreverse linear endwise movement to said member for actuating forimparting a step-by-step rotary motion to said first means in said onedirection, second rotatable means rotative in the same direction ofrotation as said first means,

for imparting endwise movement to said member in an opposite lineardirection, automatically operable means for imparting rotary motion tosaid second rotatable means, and means actuated by said member forcontrolling the operating periods of said automatically operable means.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supportmember having a bore therein, an internally threaded bushing rotatablymounted in said bore and fixed against endwise axial movement therewith,an externally threaded shaft engaging said internally threaded bushing,a member secured to, carried by and projecting axially from an end ofsaid shaft, means for rotating said bushing, means for precludingrotation of said shaft incident to rotation of said bushing, wherebyrotation of said bushing will impart endwise axial movement to saidshaft relative to said bushing, and means for rotating said shaftrelative to said bushing for imparting a counter axial movement to saidshaft.

6. A timer including circuit control means, an axially shiftable memberfor actuating said circuit control means to circuit closing or circuitbreaking conditions, first rotatable means for imparting endwisemovement to said control member in one direction, and second rotatablemeans for imparting endwise movement to said control member in anopposite direction.

7. A timer including circuit control means, a member for actuating saidcircuit control means to a circuit closing or circuit breakingcondition, first means mounted for rotation about but fixed againstendwise movement along an axis, second means rotatable about andshiftable endwise along said axis, said member being secured to, carriedby and projecting from said last mentioned means, means operativelyinterconnecting said first and second means whereby rotation of saidfirst means will impart axial movement only to said second means, andwherein rotation of said second means will impart axial movement 7thereof relative to and without rotating said first means.

closing and circuit breaking conditions, a support memer having a boretherein, an internally threaded bushing rotatably mounted in said boreand fixed against endwise axial movement therewith, an externallythreaded shaft engaging said internally threaded bushing, said membersecured to, carried by and projecting axially from an end of said shaft,means for rotating said bushing, means for precluding rotation of saidshaft incident to rotation of said bushing, whereby rotation of saidbushing will impart endwise axial movement to said shaft relative tosaid bushing, means for rotating said shaft relative to said bushing forimparting axial movement to said shaft in an opposite direction, anelectric motor, means driven by said motor in driving relationship withsaid shaft, said circuit control means adapted to close an electricalcircult to said motor incident to axial movement of said member in onedirection for imparting rotation to said shaft to move said member inthe opposite direction to a circuit breaking position.

9. A timer including circuit control means having an element movablebetween one or the other of two normal positions to establish a circuitclosing or a circuit breaking condition within said means, a member foractuating said element, first means mounted for rotation about but fixedagainst cndwise movement along an axis, second means secured to andcarried by said first means, said second means rotatable about andshiitable endwise along said axis and relative to said first means, saidmember being secured to, carried by and projecting from said lastmentioned means, means operatively interconnecting said first and secondmeans whereby rotation of said first menas will impart axial movementonly to said second means for moving said member away from said circuitcontrol element, and wherein rotation of said second means in the samedirection will impart axial movement thereof relative to and withoutrotating said first means for moving said member toward said circuitcontrol element.

10. A timer including circuit control means having an element movablebetween one or the other of twonormal positions to establish a circuitclosing or a circuit breaking condition within said means, an axiallyshiftable member for actuating said element, an internally threadedbushing, means mounting said b ushing for rotation about but fixedagainst endwise movement relative to an axis, an externally threadedshaft engaging said internally threaded bushing, said member secured to,carried by and projecting axially from an end of said shaft for movementtoward and away from said circuit control element, means for rotatingsaid bushing in one direction, means for precluding rotation of saidshaft incident to rotation of said bushing whereby rotation of saidbushing will impart endwise axial movement to said shaft relative tosaid bushing, other means for rotating said shaft in the same directionrelative to said bushing, means for precluding rotation of said bushingincident to rotation of said shaft whereby rotation of said shaft willimpart axial movement thereto in an opposite direction, an electricmotor, means driven by said motor in driving relationship with saidshaft, said circuit control means .adanted to close an electricalcircuit to said motor incident to axial movement of said member awayfrom said circuit control element for imparting rotation to said shaftto move said member toward and to engagement with said circuit controlmember to break the electrical circuit to said motor.

ii. A timer including circuit control means having an element movablebetween one or the other of two normal positions to establish a circuitclosing or a circuit breaking condition within said means, a member foractuating said element, first means including a ratchet wheel mountedfor rotation about but fixed against endwise movement along an axis,second means including a ratchet wheel secured to and carried by saidfirst means, said second means rotatable about and shiftable endwisealong said axis and relative to said first means, said member beingsecured to, carried by and projecting from said last mentioned means,means operatively interconnecting said first and second means wherebyrotation of said first means will impart axial movement only to saidsecond means for moving said member away from said circuit controlelement, and wherein rotation of said second means in the same directionwill imnert axial movement thereof relative to and without rotating saidfirst means for moving said member toward said circuit control element,ratchet means operable for imparting a stcp-by-step rotary motion to theratchet wheel associated with said first means, drive means engageablewith the teeth of the ratchet wheel associated with said second meansfor imparting rotary motion thereto, an electric motor in drivingrelationship with said drive means, and means connecting said motor tosaid circuit control means whereby said motor will be driven duringthose periods of time when said circuit control element is in a circuitclosing condition.

12. A timer including circuit control means having an element movablebetween one or the other of two normal positions to establish a circuitclosing or a circuit breaking condition within said means, an axiallyshiftable member for actuating said element, an internally threadedbushing, means mounting said bushing for rotation about but fixedagainst endwise movement relative to an axis, a first ratchet wheelsecured to and carried by said bushing, an externally threaded shaftengaging said internally threaded bore, a second ratchet wheel securedto and carried by one end of said shaft, said member secured to, carriedby and projecting axially from the other end of said shaft, ratchetmeans for rotating said bushing in one direction for imparting axialmovement to said shaft to move s id member away from said circuitcontrol element, means for precluding rotation of said shaft incident torotation of said bushing whereby rotation of said bushing will. impartendwise axial movement to said shaft relative to said bushing, drivemeans engageable with the teeth of said second ratchet wheel forrotating said shaft in the same direction relative to said bushing,means for precluding rotation of said bushing incident to rotation ofsaid shaft whereby rotation of said shaft will impart axial movementthereto in an opposite direction, an electric motor, said drive means indriven relationship with said motor, said circuit control means adaptedto automatically close an electrical circuit to said motor incident toaxial movement of said member away from said circuit control element forimparting rotation to said shaft to move said member toward and toengagement with said circuit control member to break the electricalcircuit to said motor.

13. An axially shiftable member, including in combination, firstrotatable means for imparting endwise axial movement to a secondrotatable means to which said member is secured, manually operable meansfor imparting a step-by-step rotary motion to said first meansfor'iinparting endwise movement of said second means in a direction awayfrom said first means, and means for imparting rotary motion to saidsecond rotatable means relative to said first means for returning saidsecond means back to its initial position.

14. An axially shiftable member, including in combination, firstrotatable means including a ratchet wheel mounted for rotation about butfixed against endwise movement along an axis, second rotatable meanssecured to and carried by said first means, means interconnecting saidfirst and second means whereby relative rotation thercbetween impartsendwise movement of said second means relative to said first means, saidmember secured to and carried by said second means, manually operablemeans for imparting a stepby-step rotary motion to the ratchet wheel ofsaid first means, and means precluding overriding rotation of saidratchet wheel beyond the step-by-step rotation thereof by said manuallyoperable References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS Stein July 4, 1939 10 Hughes Jan. 11, 1949 Illian Oct. 4, 1949De Moss Nov. 22, 1949 Weibull Apr. 15, 1952 McCullough Apr. 5, 1955Laviana I an. 22, 1957 Greve Aug. 25, 1959 Greenwald Dec. 1, 1959Constantine May 31, 1960

1. A TIMER COMPRISING AN AXIALLY SHIFTABLE EXTERNALLY THREADED STUDMEMBER, FIRST ROTATABLE MEANS FOR IMPARTING NON-ROTATIONAL ENDWISE AXIALMOVEMENT TO SAID MEMBER IN ONE DIRECTION, AND SECOND ROTATABLE MEANS FORIMPARTING ROTATIONAL AND ENDWISE AXIAL MOVEMENT TO SAID MEMBER IN THEOPPOSITE DIRECTION, AND MEANS ON SAID STUD MEMBER TO ACTUATE AN ELECTRICCONTACTOR.